To Seek Closure
by Redhazard
Summary: It is late at night and everyone is asleep. Jaune Arc swings his sword and thinks.


**I wrote this one last night. Then I got completely outdone by the show. You fellow FIRST bros know what I am talking about.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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To Seek Closure

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Jaune Arc swings his sword.

It is night already. All the others are asleep except for Ren. It is his turn to keep watch. Ren always has the first watch. After that, it would be Jaune's turn, then Nora's, and finally Ruby's.

Jaune Arc swings his sword.

He is not with the others at the camp. He has found a clearing a few yards away and is making use of it, just like he does every night he can get away with it. Ren is the only one who knows about it. Jaune doesn't offer explanations and Ren doesn't ask for them. His teammate just lets him go then nods at him when he returns to the camp.

Ren is cool like that. He probably thinks he is doing some extra training.

He's not.

What he's doing is not elaborate enough to be called training. He's just...

Jaune Arc swings his sword

Yeah, that.

Once upon a time, Crocea Mors had felt heavy on his hands. Having the sword and shield on his person all the time had been tiring. Just another one in the long list of things that made him see his inadequacy compared to the other students who fought as easily as they breathed, their weapons an extension of their body.

That is not the case anymore. Aura enhances his strength and plenty of training has given him the stamina to carry Crocea Mors all day long without tiring. He can swing his sword again and again without worries.

His arms won't tire. Not from something like this.

Tiring is having to wake up early in the morning to walk across a Grimm-infested forest. Tiring is having to hunt down their next meal because they already used the last of their supplies and the next village is two days away. Tiring is having to cross the ocean on a boat that looked like it would fall apart at any moment and almost did thanks to an unreasonably sudden storm and a vicious aquatic Grimm.

This... this is just soothing.

His body is already used to the motions. Swinging Crocea Mors helps him calm down. It helps him focus. It helps him think about some things and not think about others.

Like Pyrrha.

Over half a year has gone by, yet he can still remember that day with perfect clarity. He is not paralyzed with sorrow or anything like that.

It's just...

Jaune Arc swings his sword.

Sometimes he wonders.

He wonders what could have happened if he had been there with Pyrrha at the top of the CCT Tower. A small part of him tries to delude him into thinking he could have made a difference. That maybe if he had been there, Pyrrha wouldn't have died.

Those thoughts never last long.

Jaune Arc knows better.

It hurts him like hell to admit but if he had been there, he'd have probably gotten Pyrrha killed trying to protect him.

There is no future dwelling in that.

Instead, Jaune replays other parts of the night. The machine. Ozpin. Pyrrha's scream and the three cursed seconds in which he took his eyes off the door.

Jaune Arc swings his sword.

He knows if he keeps thinking on the many what-ifs of that night, he'll go crazy. Even so, he can't help himself.

Because Pyrrha is gone.

She will no longer wake him up in the morning or make sure he is doing his homework instead of reading comics. There will be no more late-night training sessions. He will never again hear her apologizing to Glynda for the rest of them even though she was the one member of the team who never did anything wrong.

All he has left are memories (good memories, _great_ memories, _painful_ memories) and thoughts of what could have been.

If he had noticed her feeling earlier, what would have happened then?

Jaune Arc swings his sword.

He is not afraid to admit he's not the smartest guy around when it comes to women... or plenty of other stuff for the matter.

Pyrrha liked him. He never noticed it until the end.

If he had been more observant... if he hadn't been so focused on Weiss... could they have had a future?

Was there a version of their time at Beacon where everything goes right for them? A happily ever after?

Jaune doesn't know.

He is not even sure what his feelings for Pyrrha are at this point. It's all a mess of emotions inside of him, longing and grief rolled in one.

He liked her. She was his teammate. Of course, he did.

She _believed_ in him.

No one had done that before.

Did he like her in that way, though?

He isn't certain.

He'll never know for sure.

All that's left for him now is the road to Mistral, because it's only there where he'll get the closure he desperately needs.

Jaune Arc swings his sword... and sees the people on the other end of it.

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The End

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 **AN: And that's a wrap.**

 **If you enjoyed this fic, check out my other RWBY fic, Silver Moon, Golden Sun. It's a fun little Rwby/Pokemon xover.**

 **To fans of The Return, don't worry. I have already started planning the next chapter.**

 **To everyone else, don't forget to review.**

 **Until next time!**


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